If you are looking to make a big splash at your next event, you want something high energy, dramatic and fun. Depending on your theme a fire show might be the perfect answer – but where do you start? I am a fire performer with fifteen years of experience in the industry, and I’m here to offer a little help in planning your big Fire Show with all the necessary safety measures.

6 Tips on hiring fire performers

1. Get a recommendation

If you are lucky, one of your friends or family will have hired a fire performer in the past or know someone who has. It’s worth asking around to find out if someone might have a lead on a good entertainer in your area; recommendations are most likely to lead you straight to the best talent.

2. Permits & liability

Who is responsible for making sure the venue and the performers have their permits and insurance in order? You are! If your fire dancers are any good, they will likely offer to do the legwork for the permitting and talk to the local fire prevention authorities on your behalf. They have the experience and the knowledge in this area so let them take care of the red tape, but make sure you get a copy of all the documents. Many states and provinces have fines for performing with fire and without an open flame permit and you could be on the line for big money if you get caught. Better safe than sorry.

3. Minimise Distractions and Maximise Focus

No matter how good the performers might be, if your guests are distracted they might blink and miss the show. Fire shows are stunt and trick based so if you look away for a moment, you are likely to miss something amazing. Do your best to make the experience a good one for everyone by making sure there are no visible distractions around the performance area and that the performers are given a proper announcement to help direct the attention of your guests to the spectacle about to begin.

4. Check Out Your Performer

It is reasonable and recommended that you ask your fire performers for proof of insurance, a safety plan and references. Not only does this give you added peace of mind, if they have these documents on hand it is an indicator of an experienced, professional, full-time performer who is likelier to give you a quality show.

5. Googling for Performers

Anyone can put together a nice looking site in minutes these days. Don’t be fooled by stock photos and website templates. Look for lots of pictures and videos of your performers doing their show in front of many different audiences. Look for awards and quotes on the website, and make sure this is not their first rodeo. You don’t want to accidentally book a newbie for the price of an experienced professional.

6. Read the Safety Plan

Your fire performer should provide you with their safety requirements. This will include information like fueling systems, the distance the performer must be from the audience and whether you will be asked to provide a fire extinguisher on site. If you have agreed to these safety requirements and don’t follow through, the performer may refuse to perform. That’s no fun for everyone, so please read the safety plan and the performers requirements.

See? Easy!

That’s it! Fire shows are beautiful and impressive, making them a great choice for many galas, festivals, and corporate events. However, they can be dangerous if performed by inexperienced amateurs. These steps will help protect you from liability and harm and make sure you get the most out of your artists.

I just love shooting with JT, with image was actually used in the paper. Check out his blog by clicking here. There he writes,

This was an interesting space but we made the mistake of shooting in it too long. We both felt sick afterwards from the combination of mouldy dust and humidity (the insides of my nose were black from the dust…)

I don’t think we’ve had a change to shoot together since I got more focused on magic and illusions. I still love working with fire and there is a lot of fire even in m y magic shows now but I would love to work with JT in a shoot inspired by my magic. A girl can dream.

If you enjoy this image, you might want to check out my modeling galley that shows some of the work I’ve done over the last 6 years. Enjoy!

On October 19th, 2012 the Television Show where I set the new world record for “longest duration fire torch teething”, Los Show Dei Record in Rome, Italy FINALLY AIRED.

Note: Fire torch teething refers to a fire eating stunt which involves using one’s teeth to grip a flaming torch and holding it upright in the mouth without the use of one’s hands. This stunt is considered both dangerous and incredibly difficult. The intense pain from the fire on one’s mouth and teeth plus the inability to breathe throughout the performance of the stunt make this an impressive feat.

The record stood at an impossible 1 minute 32.75 seconds and was achieved by Wendell Gray in Mumbai, India. In training to break his record, I had to work on the trick every day for over a month before flying to Italy in April of 2012 for the chance of a lifetime.

On April 12th in Rome, Italy in front of a live audience I freaked out when I became a Guinness World Record Holder after successfully holding a flaming torch in my mouth for an incredible 2 minutes and 1 second.

I am super excited to finally be able to share the news with friends after the show aired on Thursday.

Host Carisa Hendrix & Special Guest Zan Moore | Building a Great Act Show Notes: Zan Moore is an amazing entertainer who has booking tours down to an art. Over the summer he performed 60 shows and traveled 1500 miles over 4 months and has achieved that insane feat two years in a row. Zan […]

While doing research for the buugeng article on the Firepedia site, healinghere I came across this video in the Buugeng.org forums. In the video what you are seeing are little with S sticks that BouncingBoy81 calls “moogeng”. It just amazes me that this style of prop is so young and still we are constantly coming up […]

Host Carisa Hendrix & Special Guest Tedward | The Science or Fire Show Notes: We talk about and review the resources available to fire eaters, recipelook and talk about the discrepancy between fuel names in different countries. Ted settles the debate with Isopropyl alcohol and white gas. What kind and size of fire eating torches should […]

This week’s episode kindly sponsored by Bearclaw Fire Tool Manufacturing, innovating high-performance fire equipment for over a decade. Check them out at BearClawFire.Com. Show Notes: An organizer of Pacific Fire Gathering, producer of “Poi Spinning Basics with Pele’s Element DVD” instructional DVD and world class performer Shireen Press joins us to discuss a range […]

FIRE EATING BOOK REVIEWS TheProfessional’sGuidetoFireEating by Brian Brushwood ISBN # 0971364605. As far as fire eating books go, store this is the best of the bunch. Brian’s book is comprehensive and extensive, going into detail about every conceivable aspect to the art. I give it a perfect score BEST PART The […]

As some of you may know, I’ve taken some time off over Christmas and New Years to re-evaluate and re-locate. We return to our regular podcasting schedule next Wednesday with an interview with Shireen Press from Flamboyant and a whole new set of new years resolutions for Prop Manipulators.

Right now I wanted to take the time to catch all you wonderful people up on what to expect from the new year.

Near the end of 2010, I accepted a council position with the North American Fire Arts Association, this got me thinking a lot about what I had to offer them and what our community of fire bugs and prop junkies really needed.

Relocating to a beach house in the Caribbean for 3 months was exciting, but I became consumed with figuring out how to make the FireBug Blog more targeted to what we need as a community. Here’s what I discovered. I wasn’t gonna happen, the blog and podcasts are a great start but we need so much more. We need reliable and accurate information from experts we can trust, we need a place to explore and share information and inspiration in order to challenge each other to push our art form to the next level and then beyond that.

I have taken much of my savings and invested in this project, I am working tirelessly to give this new resource the functionality that we are missing elsewhere, without stepping on anyone’s toes. This new resource will be reliable and non-bias. I don’t plan to use it to sell anything as I do not want to take away from anyone’s business. All are welcome to be involved.

If you have a few moments please fill out this short survey that will help me build a better resource.

As some of you may know, I’ve taken some time off over Christmas and New Years to re-evaluate and re-locate. We return to our regular podcasting schedule next Wednesday with an interview with Shireen Press from Flameboyant and a whole new set of New Year’s resolutions for Prop Manipulators. Right now I wanted to take […]

Ferriss’ last book The 4-Hour Workweek is a huge part of the reason why I produced my DVD “How To Eat Fire” and sold everything I owned to travel the world.

I found his last book life changing so I am very excited about this one. The idea behind the “4 Hour Body” is to bring his perspective on efficiency and effectiveness to matters of health, fitness, and sex.